Chapter XIV

For tonight, I was the one cooking, and I decided to make pasta since it's easy to make homemade. You just add flour, eggs, mix it all together with some salt and a few spices, and you're good to go. I found some glass jars in the village, and Isabella had a few as well, so I used them to store the spaghetti and macaroni I made. The Blackwoods really like pasta.

I also managed to get some cheese, but it doesn't come from cows as I knew them. Instead, it comes from a creature called a "Lactabeast," a large, gentle animal with soft fur and long, curved horns. Milking it was quite an experience. I'd never milked a cow before, but I imagine it feels similar. It was strange, like tugging on soft teats, something I'd never done before. But I succeeded in extracting the milk and making cheese, mayonnaise, and vinegar from it.

Isabella gave me a small shelf where I could store all the things I've managed to make so far. I've also tried making powdered sugar, but I'm still missing a few things. If I can get powdered sugar, I might be able to make ice cream and other pastries. I aim to recreate as much of the food I knew on Earth as possible. It's strange because I never had the leisure to cook before. Maybe it's because I never tried. Even in the little hell I lived in, we were served homemade dishes. I'm grateful for that, at least. I had a roof over my head.

Cooking and chemistry are somewhat related, and I was pretty good at chemistry. I read a lot of books and know many techniques for making things from scratch. It proves that reading a lot of books is very useful. Tonight, I made spaghetti, their favorite. They like macaroni, but they seem to prefer spaghetti more. And it's not the only thing I've tried making. I've made croissants, pizza, and other dishes. My pizza turned out quite well, even though I made all the ingredients myself—from the dough, yeast, and cheese.

They already had flour and rice, but no chemical elements. I've also managed to make butter. I understand a bit why this world might not be technologically advanced. Magic seems to be a kind of technology. It's fascinating. You can do almost anything with magic. Each person here is aligned with an element. Lila is responsible for the water supply in the house. Mira handles everything related to fire, like cooking and boiling. Isabella can heal external injuries, but for illnesses like fever, cold, or pneumonia, she uses medicinal herbs. She mixes them and amplifies their effects with her power, which is fascinating. Zane is responsible for everything related to earth, which doesn't have much use in household chores, but he has other strengths, our little Zane.

Isabella constantly asks me to teach her the recipes I make. I'm happy to do so because she feels like a mother to me. I haven't called her "Mom" yet. Maybe I'm a bit embarrassed, but I hope to call her Mom one day because I'm sure it will make her happy.

After making the pasta, I also prepared a dessert: puffed buns. It's a dish I discovered on a social media platform, and you can fill them with jam inside, which is delicious. I also made several other things, like fresh bread, a vegetable stew, and some sweet pastries using the local fruits.

We're almost in the ninth month of the year. I've heard that starting from the tenth month, people from all over Sylvaria begin to travel to the Kingdom of Luminas. Our village, and especially our family, usually choose to go around the second week of the month. We'll spend three weeks in the Kingdom of Luminas and then return to the forest. So, I still have a month to enjoy this little village before heading on a new adventure to Luminas. The adventure will be short, but it will be worth it. We never know what might happen—maybe the stay will even be extended.